CONNECTICUT COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sacred Heart men’s hockey: Pioneers swept Robert Morris to move into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Hockey Association and break into the top 20 in the USCHO national poll for the first time in program history. Eight different players have multiple points in the two games against Robert Morris. Jason Cotton led the way with three goals in Sunday’s 4-2 win. He has 13 goals which ties him with Providence sophomore Tyce Thompson of Milford for the men’s Division I lead. Teammates Austin McIlmurray and Matt Tugnutt have 12 and 11 goals.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nigel Green, Southern Connecticut State men’s track and field: Green set the New England record while winning the 300 meters at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Open- er meet in Boston. Green’s time of 33.42 is the second fastest in the NCAA this season as Clemson’s Marcus Parker ran a 33.20 on Saturday.
HOMETOWN FOCUS
Nico Benalcazar, Wake Forest men’s soccer: Freshman defender from Wilton has started all three games in NCAA tournament as Wake Forest has advanced to Division I Final Four with wins over Maryland, No. 13 Michigan and No. 22 UC Santa Barbara. The Demon Deacons play No. 1 Virginia in Friday’s national semifinals. Benalcazar has played in 15 games with 11 starts and two goals on his three shots on goal.
BY THE NUMBERS
1: Finish for Coast Guard men’s and women’s swimming teams in Connecticut Cup, a matchup of the state’s Division III programs.
2: Consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for UConn’s Kevin Mensah who was named the teams MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. New Haven native Travis Jones earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
2: East Coast Conference Freshman of the Week honors for Bridgeport’s Gracen Kerr of Ansonia who leads the Purple Knights in scoring, assists and steals.
2: Sets that Sacred Heart was leading top ranked Baylor in first round of NCAA tournament. Baylor won 3-0 despite the Pioneers not committing a ball-handling error and just one blocking error.
3: Goals for Jonny Evans in UConn men’s hockey team’s 7-4 win over Vermont which completed a sweep of weekend series and gave Huskies 5-1-2 record over the last eight games
3: Goals by Yale women’s hockey sophomore Rebecca Vanstone in a sweep of Dartmouth as last season’s top goal scorer returned from injury.
3: Players from Connecticut colleges to earn AVCA All-Region honors as Hartford’s Jenna Bridges was named a first team East selection while Yale’s Frances Arnautou (East) and Fairfield’s Manuela Nicolini (East Coast) were honorable mention selections.
3: Bridgeport women’s soccer players to earn Division II All-East Region honors. Maegen Doyle was a first team pick, Roosa Ariyo and Rebekka Skaashelm were named to the second team while Southern Connecticut’s Nadine Hilkert was a third team selection. UB’s Leandro Avila and Marlon Montanella were second and third team picks in the men’s Division II East all-region team while Post’s Andrea Baleotto and Alvaro Sanchez were named to the second team.
4.0: Grade-point average of WestConn junior offensive lineman Andrew Schimanski who earned second team Division III Academic All-American honors.
5: Consecutive double-digit scoring games for Yale’s Jordan Bruner who has scored at least 13 points in each game during Yale men’s basketball team’s current five-game winning streak.
8: Shutouts by Conn College men’s soccer goalie AJ Marcucci to earn first team United Soccer Coaches All-American honors for second straight season.
8: Wins in a row by Trinity women’s basketball team including victories over Conn College and Stevens.
10: Points for NESCAC Women’s Hockey Player of Week Erin Dillon of Conn College in a 3-0 week.
14: Number of 3-pointers by Gateway Community College’s men’s basketball team in 102-72 win over UConn Avery Point. Reginald Stewart led the way with five 3-pointers. It was the fourth game this season with at least 14 3-pointers as Gateway is off to 5-1 start.
21: Points for Tyreek Perkins in Albertus Magnus men’s basketball team’s win over No. 22 WPI.
23: Kills by seniors Emily Burford and Amanda Henneman in Bridgeport women’s volleyball team’s 3-1 loss to Molloy in NCAA Division III East Region final.
32: Rebounds for Amina Wiley in Mitchell women’s basketball team’s win over Anna Maria. Wiley also had 20 points in addition to recording the most rebounds in a game by a women’s player at the NCAA Division I, II and III level this season. She averaged 25 points and 24.5 rebounds in two games to earn NECC Player of Week honors.
35: Seasons that Shaun Green served as Central Connecticut’s men’s soccer coach. Green recently announced his retirement from coaching.
36: Points by Quinnipiac men’s basketball junior Rich Kelly in win over New Hampshire. The former Fairfield Prep star was 13 of 18 from the field including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
41: Saves for Conn College men’s hockey goalie Connor Rodericks in win over Colby.
55: Points by UConn’s Svea Boker who earned first team National Field Hockey Coaches Associaton All-American honors. Fairfield’s Luzi Persiehl was named to the second team while Yale’s Bridget Condie and UConn’s Sophie Hamilton were third-team picks.
61: Yale undergraduates from the Class of 2020 to be elected into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society. Yale women’s basketball captain Megan Gorman is among the honorees to join a society which includes 17 U.S. Presidents and 41 Supreme Court justices.
81:: Free-throw percentage for Sacred Heart men’s basketball team which is fourth among Division I teams.
93: Saves on 95 shots for Yale men’s hockey goalie Corbin Kaczperski as Bulldogs defeated RPI, Union and Maine.
GET OUT AND GO
Women’s basketball, Mitchell at Western Connecticut, Saturday, 1 p.m.: Mitchell’s Amina Wiley is the USBWA Division III National Player of the Week and leads the Mariners against the host Colonials.
Women’s basketball, Sacred Heart at Yale, Dec. 19, noon: Bulldogs already own a home win against Quinnipiac and now Sacred Heart comes to town.